{"id":"CVE-2022-39197","published":"2022-09-22T01:15:11Z","modified":"2026-06-17T04:57:53Z","title":"Fortra Cobalt Strike Teamserver Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Vulnerability","vendor":"Fortra","product":"Cobalt Strike","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"An XSS (Cross Site Scripting) vulnerability was found in HelpSystems Cobalt Strike through 4.7 that allowed a remote attacker to execute HTML on the Cobalt Strike teamserver. To exploit the vulnerability, one must first inspect a Cobalt Strike payload, and then modify the username field in the payload (or create a new payload with the extracted information and then modify that username field to be malformed).","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"A cross-site scripting flaw in Fortra's Cobalt Strike teamserver, present in HelpSystems Cobalt Strike through version 4.7, lets a remote attacker inject HTML into the teamserver's interface via the username field of a payload. Exploitation requires that the attacker first inspect a Cobalt Strike payload and then modify its username field (or generate a new payload with the extracted information and alter that field to be malformed), with the attacker needing no authentication but requiring a user to interact with the crafted content.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-29T13:44:14Z"},"cvss":{"score":6.1,"severity":"MEDIUM","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.44145,"percentile":0.98753,"date":"2026-10-30","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2023-03-30","dueDate":"2023-04-20","ransomware":false,"requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","notes":"https://www.cobaltstrike.com/blog/out-of-band-update-cobalt-strike-4-7-1/;  https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-39197","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2023-01-17","exploitedFirstSeen":"2023-01-17","ransomware":false,"evidence":[{"url":"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/blackorbird/APT_REPORT/master/summary/2023/360_APT_Annual_Research_Report_2022.pdf","date":"2023-01-17"},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2023-03-30"}],"evidenceTotal":2,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":{"pulseCount":50,"pulses":[{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae20c1db17e7057ae7d9ad1","created":"2026-10-28"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae0ba7e0e2a97ff7b218819","created":"2026-10-27"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adf68b85c3e852f3c111d18","created":"2026-10-26"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adb740e397c3ad4799aa4cd","created":"2026-10-23"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ada236fcfba2dfa730ea482","created":"2026-10-22"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad8d33a077cbb5cab524d80","created":"2026-10-21"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 21, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad78130c4d1ac2be83a8b6d","created":"2026-10-20"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 20, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad62f63c24a405a3423cc13","created":"2026-10-19"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 19, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad4dda174e5797d0bd238b7","created":"2026-10-18"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 18, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad38c22e1848f8189d1c121","created":"2026-10-17"}],"provenance":"machine"},"cwes":[{"id":"CWE-79","name":"Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation"},{"id":"CWE-20","name":"Improper Input Validation"}],"references":[{"url":"https://www.cobaltstrike.com/blog/out-of-band-update-cobalt-strike-4-7-1/","tags":["Mitigation","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cobaltstrike.com/blog/tag/release/","tags":["Release Notes","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cobaltstrike.com/blog/out-of-band-update-cobalt-strike-4-7-1/","tags":["Mitigation","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cobaltstrike.com/blog/tag/release/","tags":["Release Notes","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-39197","tags":["US Government Resource"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1190","name":"Exploit Public-Facing Application","tactics":["initial-access"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Cross-site Scripting (XSS)","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[],"comment":"This vulnerability is exploited by a remote attacker to execute HTML on the Cobalt Strike team server. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would inspect a Cobalt Strike payload and modify the username field within the payload to be malformed. This manipulation enables the attacker to execute arbitrary code by setting a malformed username in the Beacon configuration.\n\nIn a documented cybersecurity incident, a Chinese threat actor leveraged a modified version of Cobalt Strike, known as \"Cobalt Strike Cat,\" which included a patch for CVE-2022-39197. This version was used to establish communication channels with victim systems, perform evasive post-exploitation activities, and maintain persistence. ","confidence":"low","confidenceNote":"needs user interaction; not a public-facing exploit"},{"id":"T1059","name":"Command and Scripting Interpreter","tactics":["execution"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Cross-site Scripting (XSS)","mappingType":"primary_impact","evidence":[],"comment":"This vulnerability is exploited by a remote attacker to execute HTML on the Cobalt Strike team server. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would inspect a Cobalt Strike payload and modify the username field within the payload to be malformed. This manipulation enables the attacker to execute arbitrary code by setting a malformed username in the Beacon configuration.\n\nIn a documented cybersecurity incident, a Chinese threat actor leveraged a modified version of Cobalt Strike, known as \"Cobalt Strike Cat,\" which included a patch for CVE-2022-39197. This version was used to establish communication channels with victim systems, perform evasive post-exploitation activities, and maintain persistence. ","confidence":"high"}],"reports":[{"id":"SRC-00137fe8f183bbad0ec9","title":"Chinese Threat Actor Used Modified Cobalt Strike Variant to Attack Taiwanese Critical Infrastructure","publisher":"blog.eclecticiq.com","url":"https://blog.eclecticiq.com/chinese-threat-actor-used-modified-cobalt-strike-variant-to-attack-taiwanese-critical-infrastructure","date":null,"mentions":[{"quote":"Patch for publicly available Cobalt Strike vulnerability tracked as CVE-2022-39197 [17].Figure 8 shows a small portion of Cobalt Strike Cat logs from the attacker´s infrastructure.","start":6567,"end":6747},{"quote":"[17]      “NVD - CVE-2022-39197.”","start":23433,"end":23466},{"quote":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-39197 (accessed Apr.","start":23467,"end":23529}]}],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2022-41742","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2022-41742","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2023-03-30","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[],"exploitSources":{"pocGithub":{"count":15,"skipped":0,"earliest":"2022-09-21","earliestUrl":"https://github.com/safe3s/CVE-2022-39197","repos":[{"name":"its-arun/CVE-2022-39197","url":"https://github.com/its-arun/CVE-2022-39197","stars":385,"created":"2022-10-14"},{"name":"burpheart/CVE-2022-39197-patch","url":"https://github.com/burpheart/CVE-2022-39197-patch","stars":315,"created":"2022-09-26"},{"name":"burpheart/cve-2022-39197","url":"https://github.com/burpheart/cve-2022-39197","stars":73,"created":"2022-09-22"},{"name":"xzajyjs/CVE-2022-39197-POC","url":"https://github.com/xzajyjs/CVE-2022-39197-POC","stars":46,"created":"2022-09-23"},{"name":"xiao-zhu-zhu/pig_CS4.4","url":"https://github.com/xiao-zhu-zhu/pig_CS4.4","stars":37,"created":"2023-04-28"}]},"first":{"date":"2022-09-21","source":"PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/safe3s/CVE-2022-39197"},"provenance":"source"},"exploitRefs":[],"flow":[{"stage":"primary","techniques":["T1059"],"provenance":"source"},{"stage":"related","techniques":["T1190"],"provenance":"source","lowConfidence":true}],"timeline":[{"date":"2022-09-21","kind":"exploit-public","label":"First public exploit: PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/safe3s/CVE-2022-39197","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2022-09-22","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-39197","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2023-01-17","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/blackorbird/APT_REPORT/master/summary/2023/360_APT_Annual_Research_Report_2022.pdf","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2023-03-30","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2023-03-30","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2022-41742","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":null,"firstExploitFrom":"PoC-in-GitHub","daysToKev":189},"priority":{"score":70.9,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":0.0,"detail":"added 1383 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":0.0,"detail":"not known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":19.75,"detail":"percentile 0.9875"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":3.87,"detail":"1 report"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":5.0,"detail":"15 PoC-in-GitHub repos"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX pulses","points":3.0,"detail":"50 pulses"},{"name":"CVSS severity","points":4.27,"detail":"base score 6.1"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]}}